Customer empowerment

European Union (EU) regulations and economic trends are shaping the future of customer-focused energy policies. Regulations encourage utilities to introduce new energy technologies and increase energy efficiency for their customers. At the same time, consumers are becoming more conscious of various opportunities in energy markets, and new technologies are driving new products and services to the energy market [1]. Going forward, consumers will pay closer attention to supply security and to the possibility of generating additional revenue from distributed generation. They are also demanding more information to better manage their energy consumption [2]. A precondition for the new digital energy world — called by authors Energy 2.0 — is for consumers to play a more active role. Empowering customers to become more active players in the energy market is a task for utilities supported by appropriate regulations. Empowerment of customers is also key to meeting ambitious EU targets of energy security and to further sustainable development of the world. This paper will present the concept of customer empowerment and explain how grid operators and other utilities can leverage the intelligent energy infrastructure and new services to empower customers to become active energy players.